House reluctant to back Munir death probe

House reluctant to back Munir death probe

M. Taufiqurrahman and Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The House of Representatives (DPR) appeared reluctant on Monday
to lend their support for a thorough probe into the death of
human rights campaigner Munir, who died of acute arsenic
poisoning.

Responding to demands from human rights groups and family
members for the establishment of an independent investigation
team under the auspices of the President, the House Commission
III on Law, Human Rights and Security only pledged that it would
discuss the proposal in a plenary meeting.

"Without doubt we fully support the investigation into Munir's
death, however a formal endorsement on the establishment an
investigating commission can only be given by a House plenary
meeting," commission chairman Agustin Teras Narang said,
concluding a meeting between the commission members and human
right's activists. Munir's widow, Suciwati, also attended the
meeting.

Teras said the commission also agreed to establish a 7-strong
team to collect information relating to Munir's untimely death
that will serve as preliminary analysis to be presented at the
plenary meeting. "However, the team will be different from the
one we previously formed," he told reporters after the meeting.

Scores of rights activists including lawyer Todung Mulya
Lubis, senior advocate Adnan Buyung Nasution, member of the
National Commission on Human Rights M.M. Billah, director of
human rights watch (Imparsial) Rachland Nashidik, Bambang
Widjojanto and Smita Notosusanto met with the commission to renew
their calls for the speedy inquiry into the mysteries surrounding
Munir's death.

They also demanded the establishment of an independent
investigating team under the direct supervision of the President
to help the work of the existing team set up by the National
Police and the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

On behalf of Munir's widow, the group also called on the
police to hand over a copy of the autopsy report. It is not clear
why police have not given Suciwati a copy of the report.

Munir died aboard a Garuda Indonesia flight a few hours before
landing at Schipol airport in Amsterdam on Sept. 7. The autopsy
report showed an excessive level of arsenic in his blood.

Meanwhile, the police gave an assurance on Monday that the
formal request from the Indonesian government required to obtain
a copy of Munir's original autopsy report from the Dutch
government, would be made available on Tuesday. Police said
Indonesian law required an original copy of the autopsy report if
the case was to be investigated.

"What happened (regarding the autopsy report) was just a
little confusion because of the different administrative systems
of the two countries. A formal request from the Ministry of
Justice and Human Rights and the Attorney General's Office is
needed since investigators and forensic departments in the
Netherlands are put under these two institutions," National
Police detectives chief Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung said.

The police team, which left for the Netherlands last Thursday
said that they could not start their probe as they failed to
produce such a formal request.

Suyitno, however, said the team had in fact been given a
formal request from the National Police prior to their departure,
and was given in the company of the Indonesian envoy.

"(The Netherlands) should honor our (governmental) system and
should not sweat over administrative preconditions. I think our
Ambassador there should be considered as the government's
representative," he said.